‘Vincent:’ OxACT presents one-man show recounting life of Dutch painter

The Oxford Area Community Theater (OxACT) will present Leonard Nimoy’s “Vincent,” directed by Ben Mattox, from Oct. 16-18 at the Oxford Community Arts Center, 10 S. College Ave.

The single-actor production was adapted from more than 500 letters exchanged between Vincent van Gogh and his art dealer and brother, Theo van Gogh, from whose perspective the story is told. 

According to OxACT’s description of the play, it "examines the passion, the love, and the tormented beauty of the extraordinary artist's life and death as seen through (Vincent’s) brother’s eyes.”

“The play goes beyond mere biography of the misunderstood artist by celebrating the courage, passion, and lust for life that art kindles in us all,” OxACT also said in its description.

Theo van Gogh is portrayed by Oxford local Jeff Douglass, who’s been acting with OxACT off and on for 35 years. Douglass earned a degree in theatre from Miami University and has acted in many shows in Oxford and other cities, including OxACT’s more recent production of “12 Angry Jurors.”

This is Douglass’ first one-man show, which he’s prepared for since July – breaking the script apart into smaller elements, learning the structure and piecing the show back together.

Douglass pitched the script to Mattox last year when he was told there was a gap in OxACT’s production schedule. He said he wanted to perform “Vincent” because of  “the actual humanity that you got to see in Vincent as a person and the connection that is there between his brother.”

The 85-minute show portrays a Theo van Gogh who would have liked to eulogize his brother at his funeral but was never given the chance. To make up for it, he rents out a hall and invites guests to listen to him recount their relationship.

“They actually had a very good relationship,” Douglass said, adding it was “a little tumultuous during the time period that is covered here.”

“Vincent was kind of a starving artist, and Theo supported him throughout that,” he said. “Vincent never really realized any success from his paintings until well after death. His paintings didn’t make really much money at all. Now they’re worth a lot.”

Douglass said the show’s writer, Nimoy, better known for his portrayal of Spock in “Star Trek,” took a deep dive into the topic referenced, and although the eulogy situation in the play is fictional, the content, although dramatized, is mostly historically accurate.

The reason the play is performed by a stand-alone actor, Douglass said, is because there’s really no need for interactions with any other characters.

“Dramatically, it works well with the remembrances … particularly the sense of Theo eulogizing his brother,” Douglass said. “It becomes a very powerful remembrance.”

To emphasize the script, some of Vincent’s works and letters will be projected onto the screen behind Douglass during the performance, and occasional recorded readings of the letters between Theo and Vincent are included.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17, and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 18. Tickets cost $15 and can be reserved by phone at (513) 523-6228 or purchased online at oxact.org.

More information about the rest of OxACT’s seasonal schedule is available on the website.